CHAPTERNINETEEN
Faye
We’re walking through the woods, down a country lane, the trees keeping us in the shadows. Felix still looks like he could snap any moment, his fists clenched, his jaw tight.
He’s been like this ever since we encountered that douche lord in the gas station.
Reaching over, I softly touch his arm. One of his spare cameras is around my neck on a strap, matching the bigger one around his, but we’ve been walking for a couple of minutes without taking any photos.
“It’s okay, Felix,” I murmur. “It’s over now.”
“I know,” he laughs dryly, looking at me with that savage twist to his lips. “It just makes me sick, the thought of him talking to you like that without anybody there to stop him.”
“At least you protected your girlfriend.”
I make my tone as light and teasing as possible. But when he used that word, it was like he was sending warm and tingly love surging around my body, all through me, making my heart sparkle.
“I know you didn’t mean it,” I go on, wondering if he can sense the unbreakable need inside of me.
Felix shrugs the rucksack. It’s packed full of stuff, some food, and water. There must be more, like maybe a picnic blanket, a towel, or something.
“I did mean it,” he says firmly, causing the sparkling to shimmer even more. “If it weren’t for….”
Lola.
“You’d be my girlfriend already,” he goes on. “No doubt about it. I want you so badly. And I’m not letting anybody else have you.”
Ever, I add silently, because we’re going to be together forever and ever.
“So this is it, then?” I say, smiling shakily. “We’re boyfriend and girlfriend?”
He stops, turns to me, reaches over, and grabs my hips. I’ll never get tired of the way his touch sends sensation dancing across my skin, through me, touching my body and my soul with the same possessive want.
Leaning down, he brings his face close to mine, our lips brushing.
I love how his breath moves over my face, warm and welcome and mine when he does this. It makes me want to stand on my tiptoes and kiss him hard and then tell him I want him forever, I want his babies.
I want us.
“Yes,” he says gruffly. “But it doesn’t feel….”
“What?” I prompt, reaching up and clinging onto his neck, feeling his muscles, his firmness.
“It doesn’t feel like enough,” he says gruffly. “How badly I want you, the anger inside of me when I saw that bastard push past you. He’s lucky he didn’t lay a finger on you, Faye. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to control myself.”
I squeeze down on him, feeling his lips against mine as he gets closer. But we don’t kiss, not yet. Instead, we just stay like this.
Floating in our affection, in our love…
That’s a word I really need to steer away from, at least for now.
“I thought you were going to rip his head off anyway,” I say softly.
“He deserved it,” Felix snarls. “But then what? I get arrested for assault. I’m not here to protect you if you ever need it again.”
“Do you see that as your job? Protecting me?”
“Always,” he growls.